Despite growing protests from residents of various towns over its modus operandi, Julius Nyamazana, the CEO of RedForce Debt Management, maintains that the company is not the enemy of the residents but politicians who are trying to abuse the situation to score political points.
In a conversation with New Era, Nyamazana reacted to recent week’s mounting protests in towns, such as Okahandja and Windhoek, where the residents have taken to the streets and various community meetings to complain about the conduct and procedures of RedForce when collecting debt.
RedForce is the firm appointed by the Windhoek Municipality to collect millions of dollars in outstanding water and electricity payments owed by the city’s residents.
At a recent community meeting, Katutura residents complained about the “unfriendly” and at times “unprofessional” methods and approach of RedForce when dealing with the accounts of residents, with many saying the firm demands astronomical amounts from the already debt-ridden residents.
The meeting was led by former City of Windhoek councillor and current chairman of the Katutura Residents’ Committee Benestus Kandundu, who, on behalf of the residents, demanded that the municipality immediately does away with RedForce as a collector and rather focus on strengthening its internal debt collection processes and systems.
Nyamazana has, however, rejected the assertion that RedForce conducts its business in an “unfriendly” and “unprofessional” manner, saying their collection processes and methods are guided by those of the City of Windhoek.
“We are simply guided by processes and laws; we are not randomly targeting people as some would want to put it. RedForce is not an illegal entity that is conducting some illegal activities, no! We are contracted by the City of Windhoek – and as per our professional and contractual agreement, we have an obligation to meet certain targets in our agreement, and we are simply just living up to that agreement. We are not the enemy of the residents as some people portray us,” said Nyamazana.
An irate Nyamazana continued: “At times, the problem is our politicians, as they are the ones causing all this confusion. RedForce has always and remains open to hearing the cries of our residents, especially the pensioners who are the most affected. Instead of engaging us openly and inviting us to their community meetings to properly educate the residents on how things work, the councillors choose to play politics with the situation of the people”.
“Why don’t all these councillors come to us so that we openly engage? Why not invite us to their community meetings so that we educate the people together? It’s because they want to play politics and blame RedForce instead of serving the masses. We have a job to do, and that should be understood. But we also remain open to all grievances. The politicians, especially the councillors, should try to work together as opposed to causing confusion and blaming RedForce for everything.”
- ohembapu@nepc.com.na